Sudan keen to normalize situations in Darfur

KHARTOUM, Jan 26, 2005 (Xinhua) — Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Othman Ismail said Wednesday that his government “is keen to normalize the situations in Darfur.”

Sudanese policeman watches displaced. (Reuters).

The Sudanese official told reporters his government is convinced that solving the Darfur conflict will promote Sudan’s relations with the international community and will open the door for more international cooperation and support to Sudan.

However, Ismail pointed out that his government would not lift hand “if any international side refrains from fulfilling its humanitarian commitments to Sudan.”

He said Sudanese government has made regulations for investing Sudan’s revenues and national wealth in the fields of reconstruction, rehabilitation and development.

The minister denied the allegations that there are severe disputes between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) on the identity of the UN peacekeeping forces due to be mobilized across southern Sudan.

“There are no essential differences,” Ismail said, affirming the issue would be discussed by specialized committees in accordance with the approval of both the conflicting sides along with the UN.

Ismail said the UN has its own conditions for the identity of these peacekeeping forces, noting that his government has presented some proposals to the UN on the issue and that the SPLM has the right to do the same.